The General

Dispatch

Lyrics

Intro

Verse

BbF There was a decorated general with a heart of gold
CmG That likened him to all the stories he told
EbBb Of past battles won and lost and legends of old
F A seasoned veteran in his own time
On the battlefield he gained respectful fame
With many medals of bravery and stripes to his name
He grew a beard as soon as he could to cover the scars on his face
And always urged his men on
But on the eve of great battle with the infantry in dream
The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled for its meaning
He awoke from the night to tell what he had seen
And walked slowly out of his tent
All the men stood tall with their chests in the air
With a courage in their blood and a fire in their stare
It was a gray morning and they all wondered how they would fare
Until the old general told them to go home, he said...

Chorus

BbFCmGEb I have seen the others and I have discovered
BbF That this fight is not worth fighting
And I've seen their mothers, And I will no other
To follow me where I'm going
So... take a shower, shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men, you must be living
Take a shower, shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men, you must be living
F Go now, you are forgiven
F → F# → Gm ... → F ... (x2, with riff)
But the men stood fast with their guns on their shoulder
Not knowing what to do with the contradicting orders
The general said he would do his own duty but he would extend it no further
The men could go as they pleased
But not a man moved, their eyes gazed straight ahead
Till one by one they stepped back, and not a word was said
And the old general was left with his own words echoing in his head
He then prepared to fight, he said...
I have seen the others and I have discovered
That this fight is not worth fighting
And I've seen their mothers, And I will no other
To follow me where I'm going
So... take a shower, shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men, you must be living
Take a shower, shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men, you must be living
Go now, you are forgiven
[end with intro chords/riff]

Notes & Tabs

Basic Chords Used

Here's how I generally play the chords used in this song. Note that there are two versions of Bb you'll likely make use of:

How to Play the Intro

The intro is a bit more tricky with regard to the fingerwork required. I get by playing something as follows... it isn't 100% exact to what Dispatch plays, but close enough and a good version to learn on. Note that the exact same bar chord principles (shown directly above) apply here, too -- your hands shouldn't be moving up and down the fretboard too much.

"I have seen the others, and I have discovered..."

Song Info

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About

My name is David Potsiadlo, and I created Songnotes to share my collection of guitar tabs, chords, and lyrics for my favorite songs.

Since I started playing guitar over 10 years ago, I've often been frustrated by the preponderance of mediocre and incomplete song tabs littered across the internet. To combat this, I started keeping my own collection of notes for each song I learn -- always taking the extra time to make sure accuracy and completeness are never compromised. Years later, my collection grew to the point where I knew I had to share it online with fellow aspiring musicians.

In December 2012, I began designing & developing a website that became Songnotes. Here, I share my personal collection of hand-crafted music notation with all those online. I hope you enjoy.